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  1. #1
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    The Best Duke Players Of The 60's

    Let's see your top ten best Duke players of the 60's. To be eligible, they would have to played at least one year in the decade of the 60's. Not by position, just by your opinion.
    Here's mine.
    1. Art Heyman
    2. Jeff Mullins
    3. Bob Verga
    4. Mike Lewis
    5. Steve Vacendak
    6. Jay Buckley
    7. Jack Marin
    8. Randy Denton
    9. Dick DeVenzio
    10. Hack Tison

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Devilwin View Post
    Let's see your top ten best Duke players of the 60's. To be eligible, they would have to played at least one year in the decade of the 60's. Not by position, just by your opinion.
    Here's mine.
    1. Art Heyman
    2. Jeff Mullins
    3. Bob Verga
    4. Mike Lewis
    5. Steve Vacendak
    6. Jay Buckley
    7. Jack Marin
    8. Randy Denton
    9. Dick DeVenzio
    10. Hack Tison
    Not a bad list, but you have Jack Marin wa-a-ay too low. He was a consensus second-team All-American in 1966 and a two-time first-team All-ACC. He was a more significant player than Lewis and Vacendak, his contemporaries. He should be No. 4 on your list.

    And I'd argue that Buzzy Harrison, who started on three straight top 10 teams, two Final Four teams, and who never lost to UNC (like Mullins and Buckley), should be ahead of DeVenzio. And Howard Hurt, a two-time second-team All-ACC pick in 1960-61, should squeeze in ahead of DeVenzio (who never came close to winning even second team All-ACC honors) for sure, maybe ahead of Tison.

    Lot of good players left out -- Vandenberg, Golden, Kistler (tournament MVP on Duke's first ACC title team), Youngkin and Katherman. And there's got to be a special place for Freddie Lind, just for his performance in the 1968 UNC win.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    Not a bad list, but you have Jack Marin wa-a-ay too low. He was a consensus second-team All-American in 1966 and a two-time first-team All-ACC. He was a more significant player than Lewis and Vacendak, his contemporaries. He should be No. 4 on your list.

    And I'd argue that Buzzy Harrison, who started on three straight top 10 teams, two Final Four teams, and who never lost to UNC (like Mullins and Buckley), should be ahead of DeVenzio. And Howard Hurt, a two-time second-team All-ACC pick in 1960-61, should squeeze in ahead of DeVenzio (who never came close to winning even second team All-ACC honors) for sure, maybe ahead of Tison.

    Lot of good players left out -- Vandenberg, Golden, Kistler (tournament MVP on Duke's first ACC title team), Youngkin and Katherman. And there's got to be a special place for Freddie Lind, just for his performance in the 1968 UNC win.
    Hurt and Youngkin two of my early Duke favorite players. Both from North Carolina(not ncheat). DeVenzio was never the player I thought he would be. Seems to me he came to Duke with other celebrated high school players. They had a terrific freshman team if I remember correctly. GoDuke!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Steamboat Springs, CO
    Here's my take:

    Three are above all -- three times All-ACC plus All-Americans:
    Heyman (NPOY)
    Mullins
    Verga

    Followed closely by
    Marin (All-ACC 1st team twice, 2d-team A-A)

    Then:
    Denton (All-ACC 1st team once and 2nd team twice; some A-A honors once)
    Mike Lewis (All-ACC 1st team once and 2nd team once; some A-A honors once)
    Howard Hurt (All-ACC 2nd team three times) (Class of 1961)
    Vacendak (All-ACC 2nd team twice plus ACC player of the year)

    And:
    Carroll Youngkin (All-ACC 1st team once) (Class of 1961)

    Plus:
    Buckley (All-ACC 2nd team once) (tie-breaker is his PhD in physics and career as a rocket scientist)
    Sage Grouse

    ---------------------------------------
    'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013

  5. #5
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    I would add Howard Hurt who played from 1959 to 1961. He played for Harold Bradley for one year before Bradley left for Texas and was captain for the remaining two years. Howard provided leadership and maturity during the transition which began when Vic Bubas replaced Bradley. His final year Howard was named Duke's MVP.

    I met Howard in graduate school. The graduate school training led him to Enloe High School where he coached Randy Denton.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by jv001 View Post
    Hurt and Youngkin two of my early Duke favorite players. Both from North Carolina(not ncheat). DeVenzio was never the player I thought he would be. Seems to me he came to Duke with other celebrated high school players. They had a terrific freshman team if I remember correctly. GoDuke!
    Youngkin was from Winston-Salem, but Hurt was from Beckley, W. Va.

    DeVenzio was part of the first recruiting class that I ever heard touted as the nation's best.

    Part of that was because of DeVenzio, who was the most celebrated guard in his prep class -- who turned down John Wooden, Lefty Driesell and Dean Smith (among others) to play for Bubas at Duke. The other super get was Brad Evans, a two-sport super star from Durham High who was the Ron Curry of his day. He turned down the change to play QB for Bear Bryant at Alabama to play for Bubas. Randy Denton wasn't as celebrated, but he became a great college big man who averaged 19.7 ppg (sixth best in Duke history) and 12.7 rebounds (best in Duke history). Rick Katherman was a sweet shooting forward from Massachusetts (the Manchester Rifle) who averaged double figures all three varsity seasons. The fifth guy was Steve Litz, a tough forward from Pittsburgh (who didn't have a great career).

    The funny thing is that even though that class produced one great player (Denton), two good players (Katherman and DeVenzio) and one decent player (Evans averaged 9.9 ppg as a junior -- his one season as a starter before he switched to football), it was not a great freshman team. They went 13-3 and lost 2 of 3 (and the Big Four championship) to a very mediocre UNC freshman team (Lee Dedmon, Dale Gipple and not much else). The only time they beat UNC was in Carmichael, when DeVenzio hit a 75-foot shot at the buzzer (from the UNC foul line).

    Dick DeVenzio ended up as a nice player, starting on teams that went 15-13, 17-9 and 20-10. He also ended up as a very unhappy guy. He was bitter that Bubas retired after his sophomore year and he never like Bucky. He's famous for hosting players on recruiting visits and warning them not to come to Duke. He ended up as an early advocate of athletes' rights and tragically died in 2001 of cancer.

  7. #7
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    Thomasville, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    Not a bad list, but you have Jack Marin wa-a-ay too low. He was a consensus second-team All-American in 1966 and a two-time first-team All-ACC. He was a more significant player than Lewis and Vacendak, his contemporaries. He should be No. 4 on your list.

    And I'd argue that Buzzy Harrison, who started on three straight top 10 teams, two Final Four teams, and who never lost to UNC (like Mullins and Buckley), should be ahead of DeVenzio. And Howard Hurt, a two-time second-team All-ACC pick in 1960-61, should squeeze in ahead of DeVenzio (who never came close to winning even second team All-ACC honors) for sure, maybe ahead of Tison.

    Lot of good players left out -- Vandenberg, Golden, Kistler (tournament MVP on Duke's first ACC title team), Youngkin and Katherman. And there's got to be a special place for Freddie Lind, just for his performance in the 1968 UNC win.
    Actually I meant in no particular order. But I did number them, so I see where you think Marin is way low, and he is for sure.
    I played on a rec league team with lawyer Fred Lind in High Point in the 70's. We won the tourney that year, beating a team led by former State star Vann Williford!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Van Nuys, CA
    1. Art Heyman
    2. Jeff Mullins
    3. Bob Verga
    4. Jack Marin
    5. Randy Denton
    6. Steve Vacendak
    7. Mike Lewis
    8. Howard Hurt
    9. Jay Buckley
    10. Dick DeVenzio

    As a young Duke fan I used to love the introductions. They turned Cameron dark and turned the spotlights on the players as they were introduced. I hope some day when there is a Duke-UNCgame on ESPN,they will mention Art Heyman , Larry Brown Doug Moe,Billy Cunningham,Frank McGuire and Vic Bubas. Noone ever had a better game than Art Heyman going against Billy Cunningham scoring 40 points and having 24 rebounds on Senior Day.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Carolina Beach

    Good Thread

    Good Thread. A good stroll down memory lane.

    Not in order..I did not see Art Heyman play. My childhood memory does not go back that far but with all his accomplishments I have to include him.

    Art Heyman, Jeff Mullins, Jack Marin, Steve Vacendak, Bob Verga, Mike Lewis, Randy Denton, Jay Buckley, Hack Tison, & C.B. Claiborne for the important history involved.

    Link to article on C.B. http://www.indyweek.com/sports/archi...ketball-player

    One little Bob Verga story. I grew up in Wilmington & he was with the Carolina Cougars. I guess they were traveling around in the summer to promote the team. It was at our Little League Park..Hugh MacRae..They had some type portable basketball goal that they set up on asphalt. The local news was there & they were interviewing him & they asked him to shoot a few baskets. Seems like he set up somewhere equivalent to free throw to top of the key..He started shooting jumpers. Never missed. Again with the memory of a child & a long time ago it seems like he shot a dozen or so. He stopped & looked at the reporter & said, "Is that enough?" Too bad I don't still have the autographed photo. That would be a nice add to this.

    verga 003.jpg

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by heyman25 View Post
    1. Art Heyman
    2. Jeff Mullins
    3. Bob Verga
    4. Jack Marin
    5. Randy Denton
    6. Steve Vacendak
    7. Mike Lewis
    8. Howard Hurt
    9. Jay Buckley
    10. Dick DeVenzio

    As a young Duke fan I used to love the introductions. They turned Cameron dark and turned the spotlights on the players as they were introduced. I hope some day when there is a Duke-UNCgame on ESPN,they will mention Art Heyman , Larry Brown Doug Moe,Billy Cunningham,Frank McGuire and Vic Bubas. Noone ever had a better game than Art Heyman going against Billy Cunningham scoring 40 points and having 24 rebounds on Senior Day.
    YES! This is the ranking I would use. Loved the intros. Lot's of energy.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    DC and DE Beach
    Quote Originally Posted by Atldukie79 View Post
    YES! This is the ranking I would use. Loved the intros. Lot's of energy.
    I was a regular at Indoor Stadium from '55 to '62 and also at Duke's '63-'69 games at Cole, and agree with this ranking although, because of different styles, it's difficult for me to say definitively that Heyman was "better" than Mullins, Verga or Marin. I recall Heyman as a good, not great, shooter who was brilliant at following his own shot and turning the offensive rebound into two points. One change I might make would be to slip Carroll Youngkin, a very effective inside scorer at 6'6", ahead of DeVenzio, who I recall as a pass-first point but not a go-to scorer.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Raleigh, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by heyman25 View Post
    1. Art Heyman
    2. Jeff Mullins
    3. Bob Verga
    4. Jack Marin
    5. Randy Denton
    6. Steve Vacendak
    7. Mike Lewis
    8. Howard Hurt
    9. Jay Buckley
    10. Dick DeVenzio

    As a young Duke fan I used to love the introductions. They turned Cameron dark and turned the spotlights on the players as they were introduced. I hope some day when there is a Duke-UNCgame on ESPN,they will mention Art Heyman , Larry Brown Doug Moe,Billy Cunningham,Frank McGuire and Vic Bubas. Noone ever had a better game than Art Heyman going against Billy Cunningham scoring 40 points and having 24 rebounds on Senior Day.
    This is a picture from that wonderful game - Larry Brown is on the far left, Cunningham on the right. Great caption.

    1236464_10200656736120965_1471360282_n.jpg
    Last edited by chrishoke; 02-17-2017 at 09:36 AM.
    "This is the best of all possible worlds."
    Dr. Pangloss - Candide

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Winston Salem, NC
    Quote Originally Posted by wsb3 View Post
    Good Thread. A good stroll down memory lane.

    Not in order..I did not see Art Heyman play. My childhood memory does not go back that far but with all his accomplishments I have to include him.

    Art Heyman, Jeff Mullins, Jack Marin, Steve Vacendak, Bob Verga, Mike Lewis, Randy Denton, Jay Buckley, Hack Tison, & C.B. Claiborne for the important history involved.

    Link to article on C.B. http://www.indyweek.com/sports/archi...ketball-player

    One little Bob Verga story. I grew up in Wilmington & he was with the Carolina Cougars. I guess they were traveling around in the summer to promote the team. It was at our Little League Park..Hugh MacRae..They had some type portable basketball goal that they set up on asphalt. The local news was there & they were interviewing him & they asked him to shoot a few baskets. Seems like he set up somewhere equivalent to free throw to top of the key..He started shooting jumpers. Never missed. Again with the memory of a child & a long time ago it seems like he shot a dozen or so. He stopped & looked at the reporter & said, "Is that enough?" Too bad I don't still have the autographed photo. That would be a nice add to this.

    verga 003.jpg
    Being from the Triad area(W/S & Gbo) I got to see those Carolina Cougars play often. Verga, Cunningham(later the coach), Wendell Ladner, Pogo Joe Caldwell, Doug Moe, Mike Lewis, George Lehmann, Lou Carnescca to name a few. I got to meet Bones(Wake), Larry Brown(Uncheat), Cunningham(Uncheat), Doug Moe(Uncheat), and Lou Carnescca(ST. Johns). I remember the Duke and Uncheat players wore their former college numbers.

    Two of my best friends owned Tar Heel Press company and they did the printing work for the Cougars, so I was able to go to lunch with Bones, Brown, Caldwell, and Carnescca. All were very nice and cordial. Bones & Carnescca had some funny stories to tell, but Joe Caldwell was the funniest of all. He was the kind of guy that didn't take himself too seriously. My only regret was not meeting Bob Verga. He was my favorite Duke/Cougar of all. I even got to sit on press row when the team played an exhibition game at App State. I kept the rebound count for the Cougars.

    When Bones was coaching the team, he had a tendency to play Lehmann instead of Verga and I hated that. Some of my Duke buddies and I went to see the team play in Greensboro one time and I kept yelling to Bones "put Verga in and take your son Lehmann out". Little did I know it, Bones' real son was sitting about 4 rows down in front of us. One of the young ladies that was with him, turned around and yelled "George is not his son, this is his son". Not to be out done, I yelled "well George is his son too. My buddies thought we were going to get thrown out of the coliseum. That happened before I was invited to lunch with Bones and I'm glad he didn't recognize me or I would have had to pay for my lunch that day. The day the team moved to St. Louis was a dark day in my life. Those were some great days in this Duke fan's life.

    Sorry this was such a long post. GoDuke!

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Atldukie79 View Post
    YES! This is the ranking I would use. Loved the intros. Lot's of energy.
    From Rockville Center, NY, #25 Art Heyman and from Lexington, KY, #44 Jeff Mullins. Make me have chills just remembering that. Was Add Penfield the person making the intros? GoDuke!

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Olympic Fan View Post
    The only time they beat UNC was in Carmichael, when DeVenzio hit a 75-foot shot at the buzzer (from the UNC foul line).
    What? I was not previously aware of this, and it sounds like something that should have way more legendary status even if no footage is available. We hit a three-quarter-court shot to beat UNC at the buzzer?? Were we down 1 or tied?

  16. #16
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    Jun 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sir Stealth View Post
    What? I was not previously aware of this, and it sounds like something that should have way more legendary status even if no footage is available. We hit a three-quarter-court shot to beat UNC at the buzzer?? Were we down 1 or tied?
    I believe that was in a freshman game. Freshman were not allowed to play varsity basketball then. GoDuke!

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    matthews nc
    My favorite team was the 65-66 group. The NCAA eastern regionals were in Raleigh, and a group of fraternity brothers had bought tickets at the beginning of the season hoping that Duke would play there. As we were driving to the games, stuck in traffic, we recognized the guy in the car next to us -- Matt Goukas and teammates from St.Josephs...He leaned out the window and asked us if this was the way to Reynolds Coliseum, no team buses back then...At the end of the championship game we were on the court with Duke's players and a group of us held Steve Vacendak up as he cut the net...No ladders or TV ceremony either...Good times, even though a sick Bob Verga may have been the difference in the Final Four.

  18. #18
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    Dec 2010
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    Carolina Beach
    Quote Originally Posted by jv001 View Post
    Being from the Triad area(W/S & Gbo) I got to see those Carolina Cougars play often. Verga, Cunningham(later the coach), Wendell Ladner, Pogo Joe Caldwell, Doug Moe, Mike Lewis, George Lehmann, Lou Carnescca to name a few. I got to meet Bones(Wake), Larry Brown(Uncheat), Cunningham(Uncheat), Doug Moe(Uncheat), and Lou Carnescca(ST. Johns). I remember the Duke and Uncheat players wore their former college numbers.

    Two of my best friends owned Tar Heel Press company and they did the printing work for the Cougars, so I was able to go to lunch with Bones, Brown, Caldwell, and Carnescca. All were very nice and cordial. Bones & Carnescca had some funny stories to tell, but Joe Caldwell was the funniest of all. He was the kind of guy that didn't take himself too seriously. My only regret was not meeting Bob Verga. He was my favorite Duke/Cougar of all. I even got to sit on press row when the team played an exhibition game at App State. I kept the rebound count for the Cougars.

    When Bones was coaching the team, he had a tendency to play Lehmann instead of Verga and I hated that. Some of my Duke buddies and I went to see the team play in Greensboro one time and I kept yelling to Bones "put Verga in and take your son Lehmann out". Little did I know it, Bones' real son was sitting about 4 rows down in front of us. One of the young ladies that was with him, turned around and yelled "George is not his son, this is his son". Not to be out done, I yelled "well George is his son too. My buddies thought we were going to get thrown out of the coliseum. That happened before I was invited to lunch with Bones and I'm glad he didn't recognize me or I would have had to pay for my lunch that day. The day the team moved to St. Louis was a dark day in my life. Those were some great days in this Duke fan's life.

    Sorry this was such a long post. GoDuke!
    No worries.. Good post. I enjoyed it. Did the Cougars play in 3 different cities every year or was that something that came about later to try & draw more fans?

    As a kid I loved the ABA.. Last year I read 'Loose Balls" & Dr. J's biography which I enjoyed both & the stories of the ABA.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by jv001 View Post
    I believe that was in a freshman game. Freshman were not allowed to play varsity basketball then. GoDuke!
    Ah, I see now - totally missed that, had me doing a double take. Funny how that makes it seem inconsequential now but freshmen have such a big impact on the games in today's era (Deng, Rivers, T. Jones, Ingram, Tatum putting Meeks on a poster).

  20. #20
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by heyman25 View Post
    1. Art Heyman
    2. Jeff Mullins
    3. Bob Verga
    4. Jack Marin
    5. Randy Denton
    6. Steve Vacendak
    7. Mike Lewis
    8. Howard Hurt
    9. Jay Buckley
    10. Dick DeVenzio

    As a young Duke fan I used to love the introductions. They turned Cameron dark and turned the spotlights on the players as they were introduced. I hope some day when there is a Duke-UNCgame on ESPN,they will mention Art Heyman , Larry Brown Doug Moe,Billy Cunningham,Frank McGuire and Vic Bubas. Noone ever had a better game than Art Heyman going against Billy Cunningham scoring 40 points and having 24 rebounds on Senior Day.
    And yelling "who's he" as the opposing team members were announced...

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